


Rise - a DESTINY story

by drewP



Series: Rise - a DESTINY story [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Expanded Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 23:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14988068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drewP/pseuds/drewP
Summary: Her home destroyed, young Qi flees the scavenging horde of the Fallen and takes refuge inside a cave. Inside, she discovers the Ghost of a dead Guardian. Lorry, the Ghost, leads her out of the cave, where she meets two Guardians who tell her the truth about who she really is, and the role she must play as a result.





	Rise - a DESTINY story

"Call me Ishmael."

-Moby Dick, by Herman Melville

 

Qi kept running. The fires burned brightly behind her, and she covered her ears to stop the sound of the Survivors as they lost themselves to flames. It was a purge: a cleansing of the last remaining humans in the Eastern Flood Zone. For weeks her family had kept hidden. They had avoided the patrols, the scans, everything. Still, there was no search so voracious and thorough as the overwhelming blaze set by the Fallen. There would be no help from the Guardians, Qi knew, so Qi kept running.

 

By the time dusk had slipped into night, Qi was exhausted. There were no longer screams at her heels urging her onward. Instead, she was surrounded by the silence of night. The moon was in its first phase and, without its light, Qi could find no path to follow.

Shelter, she whispered to herself. There were many things she needed, but rest would have to come first. The scrubby brush around her would not be sufficient if the wind picked up. In the distance, the looming black mass of a craggy cliff stood silhouetted against the deep indigo sky, and Qi began to wander towards it.

She walked for what seemed like miles. Her mind wandered and drifted off while her feet pulled her onward. By the time she reached out and touched the damp stone wall, dawn was beginning to break on the horizon. She found a narrow cleft in the face of the wall, tucked herself inside, and slept.

 

When she awoke, day had passed and night had again returned. Tonight, however, the sky was clear, and the firmament above Qi bathed the world in an eerie glow. No time for stargazing thought Qi as she pulled herself up from her stony bed. A gentle breeze blew across her face. She breathed deeply, but the air only choked her dry throat. Qi swallowed hard and contemplated where she might find drinkable water.

Qi pulled herself to the mouth of the cleft, and surveyed the land around. None of it was familiar. How far did I run? She turned her back to the landscape and faced the darkness of the cleft. She reached into the black, feeling for the wall she knew would be there, but her fist closed on only air. It was nothing - a vast, empty hole. Qi felt herself tip forward, and her stomach lurched into her mouth, almost as if she was standing on a precipice. Instinctively, her hands shot out to the side, reaching for some way to steady herself. The smooth walls offered her no grip, and she tumbled forward, smashing her knees onto the stone floor.

Smooth walls, smooth floor. Qi’s mind raced. Water cut this hole. Qi began to crawl, afraid to try standing again. The cleft opened into a cave, and Qi had no trouble continuing deeper into the black. Her eyes strained for a glimpse of what was before her, but there was nothing to see. The thought of water, however, was enough for her to press on. The stone began to feel damp under her palms, and Qi rejoiced. Her pace quickened, and within an hour, she had found it: a small trickle of fresh water flowing like a vein through the rock. She pressed her lips to the vein, and slowly her mouth filled with water. It was heaven to her lips! She drank until her throat no longer ached, and then she collapsed again and slept.

 

When Qi woke, she felt rested, but cold. The trickle of water had soaked her hair and shirt. Engulfed in darkness, she wondered if it was day or night. When you live in the dark, it doesn’t matter. Qi stretched her hands above her head and felt nothing, so she got up onto her feet. The cave had become much bigger at this depth, and Qi could stretch her arms in any direction without feeling a wall. The open space was wonderful and terrifying all at once. Even if I find a crevice, there’s no way to be sure it was the one I came in. With that realization, Qi sank back to her hands and knees. Staying put is pointless. Going deeper just means getting more lost. Qi sat and thought for a long time. If there’s no right choice, then there isn’t really a wrong one, either. Onward it was, then, since staying put and starving was more boring than exploring and starving.

Qi chose a direction and then began to crawl until she found a wall. Once she had found that, she decided to go left, because her right hand hurt more. That was a sufficient reason in this nothingness she was trapped in, she thought.

The cave twisted and turned, winding ever deeper into the heart of the mountain. There were many veins of water, and every time she drank from one, Qi wondered if it was the last one she’d find. The cave forked frequently, so Qi alternated which direction she’d choose: left, right, left, right. When she ached, she rested, When she was tired, she slept. Hunger was painful at first, but even that faded like a memory. Qi stopped dreaming about her family or anything beyond the cave. Her dreams were as dark and blind as her time spent awake. Eventually, waking and sleeping held such a small difference, Qi wasn’t sure which was which anymore.

It seemed strange, then, when one of the two states suddenly changed. Qi could see the stone floor she was walking on. It didn’t seem like a dream, but it didn’t seem real either. Regardless, she couldn’t ignore what she was seeing: the floor was flat, polished, and had geometric patterns tracing through it. The patterns were cut directly into the rock, reaching out in every direction like microchip circuits. A slight glimmer seemed to emanate from the circuits, which, by comparison to the darkness, seemed to fill the cave with its glow. Qi began to run along the path illuminated before her, excitement filling her with energy she hadn’t felt for days.

Well, this seems as pointless as wandering in the dark - this won’t lead anywhere. But it might! But it won’t. Qi stopped in her tracks. No matter where this leads - if anywhere at all - you’re still lost. Qi looked around her. The cave had opened to a vast cavern, the ceiling vaulting above her like a tower.

To her left was a bluish glow - much brighter than the circuits, but hardly a glow at all. To Qi, in this moment, it was a beacon. She began to walk toward it. She thought she could almost hear a voice. As she drew closer, she saw the glow flutter as if whatever casting the light was moving. Her pace quickened, but her toe caught on something on the floor, and she went sprawling. The glow illuminated a silhouette on the floor: a body! Qi reached out to what looked like a face, and touched it. It was cold, stiff, and slimy. Qi nearly fainted at the feeling. At least you won’t be the first to die here. That’s comforting, right? Qi scooted away from the corpse. Well, you touched it. It’s mother probably won’t take it back. Her thoughts sounded like a memory of something her mother had told her long ago.

She turned and again began to follow the glow. She was sure it was moving. The glow was coming from a small room that branched off from the cavern she was in. When she reached the entrance to the room, Qi peeked inside. The room was empty, save a single device. It was shaped like a cube, not much bigger than Qi’s fist, and it hovered a few inches above the ground. It had an eye that glowed blue - the source of the glow! - and it muttered incessantly to itself as it floated. When it spotted Qi, the babbling stopped.

“Greetings,” came a feeble, electronic voice.

“Hello,” Qi replied. It had been ages since she spoke.

“Have you seen Manette?”

Qi’s mind thought of the body outside. “No, I don’t think so.”

“I left him right here, he can’t have gone far.” The cube began to float in a circle around the room.

“Are you alright?”

“You’re sure you haven’t seen him?”

Qi thought for a moment. She beckoned, and the cube began to follow her. She led him to the body. The glow illuminated the pale blue face, and the cube sighed.

“That is he. Or was, anyway.”

“You’re a Ghost, aren’t you?” Qi had never seen a Ghost before, but she felt quite certain this cube was one.

“Yes, I am. Manette used to call me Lorry. You could too, I suppose.”

“Manette was a guardian?”

“Was, yes, was.”

“Can’t you revive him, then?”

Lorry sighed. “Not without Light, not without Light.” He began to pace his circles again, and his glow dimmed a bit.

“You’re exhausting yourself. Stop it.”

Lorry froze, and sank a little closer to the ground. Qi looked over to Manette’s corpse again. His armor was mostly intact, save for the chest piece which had a large puncture right through the center. He had a knapsack on his back, and Qi removed it. Lorry groaned in protest.

“He’s not using it, is he?”

Lorry quieted again, and Qi searched the contents of the bag. There was a canteen, several food rations, and some of Manette’s personal possessions. Qi opened a ration and ate it slowly, making sure not to make herself sick by stuffing her shrunken stomach. When she had eaten her fill, she sipped from the canteen.

“Do you know the way?” Qi asked.

“The way to where?”

“Out.”

“I can’t be sure - I don’t think I’d make it.”

Qi reached down, picked Lorry up, and cradled the cube in her hand.

“So stop wasting your strength.” She put Lorry into the knapsack and swung it onto her back. Qi took what she could from Manette - his gloves and his boots she put on herself - they were too big, but she knew they would be useful. He had two larger weapons that were too heavy for Qi, but he had a sidearm and she took it.

“Where from here?” Qi asked bluntly.

“Follow the circuits,” Lorry returned. “And be quiet.”

“I came from the other way; there’s a way out.”

“Well, I don’t know that way, and I’m guessing you’re not exactly sure yourself or you wouldn’t have asked me in the first place.”

Qi punched the knapsack with her elbow. “Smartass.”

 

Qi followed the circuits, and soon the cavern began to look more like a designed structure. She was wandering through halls instead of caves, and doorways on either side bore emblems and glyphs - an alien language Qi didn’t recognize. Lorry had pointed out one particular symbol, and she had been following the paths marked by it ever since.

Every hall seemed endless, and every door seemed to lead to another hall. You’re going in circles. Lorry seemed to know where he was going. He was going in circles. Qi began to pause with uncertainty when Lorry suggested she turn onto another path. Lorry had noticed, but said nothing. It would have been better to die with your family. Qi shook the thought from her head and continued.

They had gone on for 3 days, Qi guessed, when they stopped. Two doors were in front of them, and neither had the symbols Qi had been following. For the first time, Lorry paused before he declared a direction.

“Take the one on the right.”

“Are you sure?”

“I said, take the one on the right.”

“You don’t seem sure.”

“Remind me, which one of us has been here before and has a digital archive chronicling every step we’ve taken?”

Qi rolled her eyes. She took out a ration and began eating.

“You’re eating too much.”

Qi glared at him. She looked into the knapsack and saw that only one more ration remained. You hate him for being right. Qi wrapped up what was left of her food and started through the door on the right. He is always right because you’re still lost and don’t have a choice.

After a few more hours, Qi stopped to rest. She noticed Lorry’s glow had faded even more. You should have died with your family. The thought had returned to her before, but the thought was clearer now, almost like a voice speaking to her. You abandoned your family. She looked at Lorry, who was continuing to mumble to himself. He’s your family now. And you hate him. Qi’s mind suddenly became focused - obsessed, even - on one small fact: she could feel Manette’s sidearm against her leg. You know the symbols. Follow the circuits, follow the symbols.

Lorry turned to look at Qi. He looked directly at her. He looked directly into her. Qi shuddered. You hate him. Maybe not that much, but a few more smart comments might change your mind. A small vein of water trickled nearby, and Qi filled the canteen before continuing.

 

It wasn’t much farther before Qi ate the final ration. Lorry’s glow had faded to almost nothing at all, and Qi was dizzy with hunger. She had never felt so hungry before, even when she was alone in the darkness. She felt that there wasn’t a scrap of energy left in her, but somehow she got up and started walking again.

The path grew darker as the plethoric circuits turned other directions one by one until one final thread remained. Qi followed that thread for two days before she collapsed, unable to go farther. Lorry had stopped speaking hours ago, and his glow pulsed from nearly nothing to nothing at all and back again. Qi passed in and out of sleep, sometimes for minutes, sometimes for hours. Sometimes the cold stone surface would wake her, sometimes it was the groaning knot in her stomach. Then, she felt as though she would never wake at all, and she felt the darkness close around her. The cold of the stone slipped away, and she felt like she was floating. Then, every sensation, every thought, every inner feeling faded away to nothing.

 

When she awoke, there was blue sky above her, grass beneath her, and voices a short distance away, one of which was Lorry.


End file.
